Monday, December 17, 2012

Rural finance supports entrepreneurship

A Magar community in
Dhorphirdi-3 of Tanahun district has been able to double its income from vegetable
farming within a year.

"We earned Rs
207,000 last year from vegetable farming, which is double than that a year
ago," said chairman of Namuna Krishak Samuha-Malebagar Bhadra
Bahadur Thapa Magar. "A year back, we had earned Rs 127,000," he
said, adding that some 22 people are involved in vegetable farming. "The
group is now planning to shift to organic vegetable farming as it can maximise
income."

The collateral free loan
from Sana Kishan Krishi Sahakari Sanstha (Small Farmers Cooperative) has
helped us become entrepreneurs, said Thapa, adding that most of the males had,
earlier, left the village for foreign employment due to lack of employment
opportunities.

However, the new found
success has made them more ambitious as the villagers also have a plan to start
a dairy, fishery and piggery in a 50-ropani plot of land. "We need Rs 2.5
million," he said, adding that villagers have nothing except small plots
of land and only collateral free loan could help them realise their dream.

However, there is a
technical problem for Sana Kishan Krishi Sahakari Sanstha-Dhorphirdi that
has been helping the villagers with financial and technical assistance.
"We cannot lend more than the ceiling as we are a farmers
cooperative," informed chairman of Sana Kishan Krishi Sahakari Sanstha Mitra
Lal Bhattarai.

"We have confidence
that the villagers can realise their dream as they have market access and
demand too," he said, adding that if the government, apart from relaxing
the loan ceiling, subsidises the interest for dairy — like in meat producing
business loans to substitute meat import — it will not only help substitute the
import of milk and milk products but also help create employment in the
villages.

With 872 male and 855
female shareholders Sana Kishan Krishi Sahakari Sanstha-Dhorphirdi is
working in nine wards of the Dhorphirdi village and has been providing support
for goat farming, dairy, buffalo, fishery, poultry and piggery.

But it's not easy for
villagers to operate Small Farmers Cooperatives that are supported by Rural
Finance Sector Development Cluster Programme II under Asian Development Bank
(ADB).

"We are facing
competition from financial institutions," said Bhattarai, adding that they
are also trying to expand their base in the villages and offering less interest
making it difficult for us to survive.

Not surprising that
they also have to fight for their existence at a time, when some of the urban
cooperatives have been cheating people playing against the norms of
cooperatives. "However, ADB, GTZ, IFAD and the government are supporting
Small Farmers Development Bank that is helping 291 Small Farmers Cooperatives
to operate smoothly and professionally to ensure their effectiveness in
reducing rural poverty and economic growth," said manager of the Sana
Kisan Bikas Bank (Small Farmers Development Bank) Krishna Aryal.